Winners of the Shocker Pre-State Challenge 2013 Elite Girls’ Pole-Vault held April 12th at Cessna Stadium (from left): Hannah Middleton, Great Bend High School, third place; Emily Rowland, Andale High School, first place; and Selam Ball, Great Bend High School, second place. (Photos by Brett Middleton).

High-flying heroine Maggie Steele found herself on the awards stand at Cessna Stadium when copies of the new teen sports novel Maggie Vaults Over the Moon were presented to the winners of the Elite Girls’ Pole-Vault at the Shocker Pre-State Challenge 2013 track meet, held April 12th at Wichita State University.

Wichita-based author Grant Overstake awarded the medals and presented a copy of Maggie to Emily Roland, Andale High School, first place; Selam Ball, Great Bend High School, second place; and Hannah Middleton, Great Bend High School, third place.

According to Overstake, “The weather that morning was very cold and windy, really terrible for pole-vaulting. I know they all wanted to vault higher, but they showed a lot of mental toughness just to get over a bar. I’m sure they’ll go waaay higher when they return to Cessna Stadium on May 24-25 for the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championships, and I look forward to watching them compete!”

Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is an inspiring read for fourth graders to adults. From now through August, the author will make a donation to the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Sports Hall of Fame for each copy sold at the Watermark store, located at Douglas and Oliver in Wichita, or via the Watermark website.